New To Me
by Narnian at Heart
Summary: Scud is shocked when Blade brings a vampire back to the warehouse, and he's even more shocked when she is made HIS responsibility. She's never been out of the underground, never seen a human...never done a lot of things. Who better to show her the ropes than our favorite stoner/mechanical genius?
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome, readers, to my very first Blade fic! As a devoted fan of Norman Reedus, this fic is definitely about Scud more than anything so if you hate Scud (for some reason I cannot comprehend!) or hate when people veer from the movie's original plot (why are you reading fanfiction, again?) then this story is not for you so please don't be hateful in the reviews because I warned you.**

**I do not own anything. All characters (with the exception of my original characters) within belong to the writers, producers, actors that portray them, etc. I am getting nothing out of writing this except for the satisfaction of freeing these words from my mind onto...screen.**

**XXHaveATokeOfTheSmokeXX**

_What the hell, people? No respect!_

Someone had cut power to the radio right in the middle of the guitar solo in Stairway to Heaven and it really pissed off the mechanical genius who was currently hanging upside down in the rigging he'd contrived to fix that dang skyroof Blade had insisted on having. It WAS a good idea though, open it and sunlight would flood the warehouse, bye bye suckheads.

"B, that ain't cool, man!" he hollered as he let himself slide down from the ceiling, at the last minute he flipped himself upright and hung there in the rigging with an accusing look on his face. "What's in the bag?"

Blade didn't even acknowledge Scud's complaining and just as easily ignored his question as he walked right past and into the holding room. Scud rolled his eyes, unclipped from the ropes, and followed.

Blade laid down the large body bag and unzipped it without any flourish at all, Scud was leaning on the doorpost to the room lighting up a joint, but watching with interest. His eyes widened when the bag parted to reveal the pale face of a young woman, but he immediate recognized her as a vampire, it was easy to tell when you're around them a lot. Scud shook that thought from his head with a shiver and stepped forward.

"B, I mean, I know you're half vamp and all but...can't you just get a normal girlfriend for once?" he teased as he stood next to the knocked out vampire in the body bag...at least he assumed she was knocked out.

"Captured her," Blade said simply, "Didn't recognize the glyphs. Must be a new group coming to settle here."

"Oh, joy, new neighbors," Scud teased as he leaned over for a closer look. "You sure gave them a warm welcome, I see."

"Shut up, shitbrick," Whistler's voice made the hair on the back of Scud's neck bristle but he hid it well, suave and calm as ever...because that's what it took to work an inside job. "It's a bad idea, Blade. I've seen some bad ideas in my day too, but this one is beyond fucking ridiculous."

Scud kept quiet and took a long hit from the joint between his lips as he studied the vampire in the bag. He eyed the glyph on the left side of her jaw and rubbed his bottom lip absentmindedly, a habit he picked up since he'd been given a glyph tat of his own, but it wasn't one he recognized. She was pretty, he mused quietly, her hair was a light brown color and her eyelashes were long, her lips were soft looking and pale pink and...smiling?

Funny how the moment he noticed this and leaned down a little closer to investigate those lips twisted into a wicked smile and Scud found himself being held firmly against her by her arm around his neck, using him as a shield. Blade and Whistler were both pointing weapons at them and Scud felt a jolt of panic when he realized her arm was so tight around his neck that he couldn't breathe and he began to try and wiggle out of her grasp.

"Put down your weapons," his captor hissed behind his ear, "Or I'll break his neck! It wouldn't be very hard at all, like breaking a toothpick."

Scud sucked in a breath as she shifted her arm to turn his head slightly, putting an uncomfortable pressure on the vertebrae in his neck.

"B, W, guys, c'mon," Scud yelped, "Maybe you should try and talk this over."

"Go ahead and kill the little fucker," Whistler challenged and Scud narrowed his eyes at him. _If I make it out of this alive, I'm gonna knock your teeth out someday, old man._

Scud felt the arm on his neck relax slightly and he was able to both breathe and turn his head back to the front.

"You don't even care what I do to him?" the vampire asked, sounding disgusted, "You humans...all of you, what a worthless species."

Scud wanted SO badly to say something sarcastic but he assumed it should probably wait until he was out of her grip.

"Do I look human to you?" Blade asked darkly, his eyes flashed and Scud felt his captor stiffen.

"You...you're...you're the Daywalker," she whispered in disbelief. Scud felt himself pushed forward roughly and he stumbled into Whistler then quickly moved away, brushing himself off as if the old man's annoyingness was catching.

"Shit," he muttered, rubbing his neck where she'd held him. There was probably gonna be a bruise there.

Blade was gently moving towards the vampire who had now backed away and was looking much less aggressive than she did fearful. Her golden eyes were wide as she stared at him and Scud wanted to laugh at her obvious discomfort. _Bitch._

"Yeah, that's what they call me," Blade said calmly, still advancing toward the now frightened vampire chick. "Do you know why I brought you here?"

"No," the vampire replied angrily, "I don't even know where _here_ is!"

"You're in the real world now," Blade stated matter-of-factly, "I brought you here."

Suddenly the vampire ran out of room to back up and she bared her fangs with a frightening hiss that made Scud jump a little bit and side-step to put Whistler in front of him. She moved like lightning as she made a run for the door but Blade had obviously been prepared for her to bolt and he turned easily. aimed, and shot her with a tranquilizer, bringing her down.

"Tie her up," he said calmly, reloading the tranq gun. Scud stepped aside while Whistler caught the rope Blade tossed him and began tying her arms and legs tightly to prevent her escape.

"Yo, B, what _did_ you bring her here for?" Scud asked, chewing absentmindedly on the joint in his mouth. Blade and Whistler tied the vamp up where Whistler himself had been tied not long ago.

"She could be a tremendous asset," Blade said without any further explanation as the vampire began to move slightly at the tranquilizer wore off. That tranq was enough to kill a human being, Scud noticed, but it had barely kept her at bay for five minutes.

They all stood around watching as the vamp slowly came back to reality and as soon as she did, her eyes flew to Scud and he hissed angrily at him, making him take a nervous step back. She smiled a mean smile at him before focusing on Blade.

"What's your game, Daywalker?" she asked, her voice dripping with hate. "Why have you brought me up here?"

"What do you know of the world up here?" Blade asked easily and Scud noticed the vamp's anger falter as she considered the question, "You've been told stories your whole life, trained to kill without question, but what do you REALLY know?"

"I know that you're our enemy," she hissed back, but Scud thought maybe there was a bit less venom in her tone. "And I know humans are our enemy as well."

"You know nothing of humans," Blade said, almost sounding...sorry. "All you know is what you've been told by your trainers, by your own kind. Have you ever met a human?"

The vampire was glaring up at Blade but then she lowered her gaze and shook her head slightly.

"I want to give you a chance," Blade continued, and he opened the windows of the room to let the moonlight flood in, "You have tonight to decide if you will take my offer. If you accept it, I'll let you out of here before the sun rises, but if you choose not to take my offer this whole room will flood with sunlight and I will feel no regret in letting you burn to a crisp."

With that, the discussion was over and Scud backed out of the room to allow Blade and Whistler to exit. He glanced back at the bound vampire with interest. He had no idea what was going on but this was definitely a time to keep his eyes and ears open for anything he would need to report to Damaskinos. That thought sent a jolt of regret through him and he chewed his thumb as he glanced at Blade. The man had saved his life, treated him right, let him be himself and use his talents. It wasn't that he disliked Blade or that he wanted to hurt him...but he knew with Damaskinos' new breed of vampire being created at this very moment his best chance at remaining alive was to be a pet instead of a rebel.

Suddenly, Blade turned around and Scud almost ran right into him.

"Be listening for her," he said as Whistler handed him his serum injection. _Reminds me of a heroin addict. _"If she decides to talk, come and get me. If not...let her burn."

Scud and Whistler both nodded in agreement as Blade took his leave and headed to his room.

"So...what _is_ B's deal with this vamp chick?" Scud asked as he scuffed out the butt of his joint on the cement floor.

"I don't know," Whistler replied honestly, "But even if I did, I wouldn't tell you."

Scud gave the old man a grin, putting on his best happy stoner attitude, and went back to his rigging to finish working on the roof. He'd keep his head down and stay quiet, that's what he was good at, and he would find out the answer eventually. Hell, Blade would probably just tell him soon enough.

XXHaveATokeOfTheSmokeXX

"HEY! IS ANYONE OUT THERE!?" Scud lifted the welding mask up and squinted down from the ceiling, it took him a moment before he remembered the vampire in the lockup room. Sighing, he lowered himself down to the floor and unclipped from the harness again and walked to the metal door across the warehouse.

"Yeah, what do you want?" he called out, leaning on the door and crossing his arms.

"I don't want to talk to _you_," came the hostile reply, "I'll speak to no one but the Daywalker."

"Whatever, babe," Scud couldn't really care less, "I'll go get him."

He knocked on Blade's bedroom door a few minutes later.

"Yo, B, your vamp is asking for you," he said when Blade opened the door.

"Good," was all Blade said before he brushed past Scud and headed to the holding room. Scud followed on his heels quietly, his curiosity suddenly flared up.

"Stay out here," Blade ordered when he opened the door, blocking Scud from entering behind him.

"You're the boss, B," Scud replied with a sloppy two finger salute as he stepped back. He leaned against the wall and waited patiently for Blade to come out and lit up a joint in the meantime.

After a very large amount of time the door opened and Blade came out with the vampire in tow, her head was hung and she didn't even acknowledge Scud's presence as they passed. Scud shrugged and followed along behind them into the "living room" area, which was simply a couch in the middle of the warehouse with a tv in front of it. Blade sat the vamp down on the couch and she kept her head hung.

"Scud," Blade said quietly, making Scud look up in surprise at being addressed, "I'm making it your job to show her the ropes."

"Whoa, B," Scud put his hands up and laughed nervously, "I hardly think I'm qualified to babysit a vampire."

"She won't hurt you," Blade said simply, "You will show her what we do here, tell her anything she wishes to know, and watch out for her."

"I..." Scud was about to argue, but instead he shrugged, "Whatever you say, B. But I have no idea what's going on here."

"She'll tell you soon enough," Blade assured him, "We've had a long talk and I've told her you can be trusted."

That statement made Scud rub his bottom lip nervously. Blade trusted him...shit, why did this have to be so damn complicated?!

"But," Blade continued seriously, threateningly, "You will keep your hands, mouth and everything else off of her, do you understand me?"

"Got it," Scud replied with a nod, "I've learned my lesson about that."

Blade nodded.

"Alright then," he said as he began to walk towards his room, "She's your responsibility now."

Scud watched him go in confusion, not knowing what the hell he'd just been thrown into. He looked nervously back over at the vampire who was still sitting on the couch with her hands clasped on her knees. Scud chewed his thumb nervously and then slowly, carefully started to walk in a large arc around the front of her, looking her over.

"So..." he ventured to say, she finally looked up at him with those unsettling golden eyes. "I, uh, I'm Josh...but everyone calls me Scud."

"Lea," came the quiet reply, barely above a whisper. It was a start.

"Lea," Scud repeated, slowly making his way closer. "So, Lea, um...welcome aboard."

And that remark earned him a tiny, yet genuine smile. Progress. A little at a time. Towards what goal, Scud had no idea, but hopefully she would be able to shine some light on the situation.

**XXHaveATokeOfTheSmokeXX**

**So, this is my start. I have a plot in mind and I hope you all give it a chance! Let me know what you think of it so far :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Song of the Day: Pretty Fly For A White Guy - The Offspring**

**Okie dokes, on to chapter two :)**

**#LoverNotAFighter#**

"So..." Scud wanted to kick himself for asking such a dumb question that he already knew the answer to, but he honestly didn't know what else to do, "Do vampires ever sleep?"

Lea shook her head, she hadn't said anything since he'd asked her name fifteen minutes ago and he was becoming impatient with her tight lipped attitude. He glanced over at his half finished projects in his workshop and smiled to himself, at least he had a legitimate excuse to get away from her.

"Well, hey, I got a lot of work to do before bed so I'm gonna get to it," Scud announced, pointing over his shoulder at the workbench full of gadgetry and parts. "The place is all sealed up tight so don't worry about any sunlight getting in because it won't."

He trotted away and flipped on the small tv to his left, letting the sounds of The Powerpuff Girls flood his ears as he picked up the chunk of silver he'd been in the process of melting down for bullets earlier that day, which he had abandoned for the skyroof work. He found himself whistling absentmindedly as he lined up the bullet molds on the table.

"How do you do that?" the soft voice made him nearly jump a mile and his whistle became a yelp. He spun around and came face to face with Lea who was looking at him funny, then her head hung slightly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's alright," Scud laughed nervously, "How do I do what?"

"That sound you were making."

"Whistling?" Scud cocked an eyebrow. He whistled a note to confirm her statement. She nodded. "Uh, you just put your lips together and...blow."

Scud nearly laughed when the vampire pressed her lips firmly together and then "blew" her cheeks popping out like a chipmunk.

"You gotta leave a little room for air to get through, genius," he teased, he put his lips in whistling position and pointed at the middle.

Lea tried again and a small, strained whistle came out and she clapped her hands over her mouth and...laughed. Scud didn't know what to think of this chick, it was almost like she didn't know anything about anything.

"What are you doing?" she interrupted his thoughts as she looked past him to the table where the molds were waiting to be filled. Scud cleared his throat and hesitated...but Blade _had_ told him to tell her anything she wanted to know...

"Making silver bullets," he admitted, nervous as to how she would react. She looked at him in shock.

"Silver?!" she stepped back, fear flashing in her eyes.

"Yeah," Scud replied, rubbing the back of his neck, "You know...for vampire hunting."

Lea's eyes narrowed and Scud backed away slightly.

"You hunt vampires?" she asked, her voice low and dangerous.

"Not me!" Scud quickly reassured her, "I'm a lover, not a fighter. I'm responsible for providing Blade's weapons and stuff. I've actually never killed a vampire...killed a few reapers yesterday though."

Lea looked confused for a second but then her eyes went to the tv and she cocked her head as she approached it.

"What is that?"

"The tv or the show?"

"The show," Lea said with some annoyance, "I know what a tv is."

"Greatest show of all time," Scud said confidently, "The Powerpuff Girls. Watch it for a while, I guarantee you'll love it."

Lea stood in front of the tv watching intently and Scud watched her thoughtfully. Finally, he pulled a stool over and slid it up behind her, she sat down with a nod of thanks, her eyes still glued to the tv as Scud went back to work.

By the time he had finished his first set of bullets, Lea was laughing at the antics of the Powerpuff Girls, especially Bubbles. He set the next chunk of silver to melting and pulled up his own stool next to her, but not too close, she still made him a bit nervous.

"I don't understand this at all," Lea said with a giggle, "But for some reason it's...funny."

"You just have good taste, that's all," Scud grinned as MoJo JoJo began a long-winded monologue.

Lea started sniffing the air then and Scud felt the hairs on the back of his neck raise when her head turned to him and her eyes closed, her mouth dropped open slightly.

_Like a cat that smells a mouse._ Scud thought to himself.

"I am starving!" Lea commented as if it was nothing terrible at all, where Scud thought those were the most frightening words he'd ever heard a vampire say in his presence. "And something smells delicious!"

Scud gave an un-amused, nervous chuckle and slid off his stool and backed away slightly. Lea stopped sniffing and looked puzzled at his now empty seat.

"Is that YOU that smells that way?" she asked in surprise.

"B!" Scud squealed, bolting out of the workshop to Blade's room. "B, get out here, right now!"

Lea came walking up, her head cocked in confusion and as soon as Blade opened the door, Scud slipped in and behind him, cowering behind his trenchcoat.

"What is your major malfunction?" Blade asked darkly as he turned on Scud, fixing him in his cold gaze.

"She's hungry, B!" Scud stated in his defense, "She's hungry and she's _smelling me!_ She said I smelled delicious!"

"Oh boy..." Blade pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes, "I was hoping we could avoid this longer."

Scud's eyes widened and he took a step back.

"What are you talking about?" he asked nervously.

But Blade ignored him and walked out of the room, placing a hand on Lea's shoulder. She was looking past him to Scud, looking lost at the turn of events. Blade gently pushed her in the direction of the couch and motioned for Scud to follow them, which he did even if he felt something was way off.

"Her name is Lea," Scud whispered when Blade sat her down on the couch.

Blade nodded and sat next to Lea.

"Lea," he said in that calm, deep voice, "Scud tells me you're hungry."

Lea nodded, wide eyed.

"Tell me, what do vampires eat?" Blade asked.

"Blood, of course," Lea replied simply, "You know this, Daywalker."

"Yes, I was just assuring that you did," Blade agreed, "But I have a suspicion that you've never actually _fed _before."

Lea cocked her head again, to the other side now.

"What?" she asked.

"Where does blood come from?" Blade asked simply.

"Well...it comes in these bags," Lea explained, her hands spread slightly in front of her about eight inches apart, "They're about this big and they have two spouts at the bottom."

Scud uncrossed his arms and they fell limp at his sides, his jaw went slack. _What the hell? _

"Yes, sometimes that's where it's kept," Blade nodded in agreement, "Is that all you ever ate? From those bags?"

Lea nodded, her eyebrows scrunched together. Scud gaped at her, looking utterly confused himself.

"Do you have any idea where it comes from originally?" Blade asked.

"What are you talking about?" Lea scoffed.

Blade stood and looked like he was considering something for a second, then he turned to Scud and motioned for him to step forward.

"Uh uh, B! No way!" Scud backed away with his palms forward.

"Get your stoned ass over here," Blade said, his voice left no room for argument and Scud bit his bottom lips before he finally worked up the nerve to move and stand next to him. Blade gripped his right arm tight and pushed his wrist towards Lea. Lea looked up at both them in confusion as Scud had a minor freakout and tried to yank his arm back.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Smell him," Blade ordered and both Lea and Scud's eyes widened in surprise. But Lea obeyed and leaned forward, sniffing lightly at Scud's exposed wrist. Exposed wasn't usually a word that came to Scud's mind when he thought of his wrist, but it seemed to fit the situation. Lea's eyes got even wider and she glanced up at Scud with a confused look.

"He smells...like..." she began slowly.

"Like blood." Blade finished for her.

"Yes," Lea whispered as comprehension began to dawn on her face.

Blade released his hold on Scud's wrist and that hand moved so swiftly that Scud didn't even register he'd done anything until he saw the line of blood begin to seep out of his forearm and he suddenly felt the sting.

"Fuck, B!" he yelped, "You're fucking crazy!"

Lea's pupils dilated so much they were almost completely black as she eyed the red liquid that was now dripping slowly onto the floor from Scud's arm. She leaned forward and looked up at Scud with awe.

"It comes from him?" she asked incredulously.

"From all humans," Blade explained, finally releasing his hold on Scud's arm. Scud yanked it back and examined the slice in his skin, glaring daggers at the back of Blade's head. "It's inside them all. It's very important to them because it plays a very big part in keeping them alive. Do you see the problem we have here?"

Lea nodded.

"Vampires eat it...but humans need it," she replied quietly, she looked completely crushed.

"Yes," Blade nodded grimly, "Too many vampires have no self control and take too much for their human victim to survive. Or they turn sometimes. This is why I do what I do."

"You got a soft spot for us, B?" Scud teased, gritting his teeth as he pressed a clean rag to his arm to stop the bleeding.

"You're all too helpless to keep yourselves safe," Blade corrected him darkly. "You of all people should know this."

Scud curled his lip in disgust as he remembered how easily those two vampire chicks had shredded his stomach open. As easy as tearing paper.

"So...what do I do about this hunger?" Lea asked, her voice trembled slightly, "I...I don't know much about humans but...I don't think I want to hurt one. I'm...starting to see I know nothing."

"Scud," Blade gave him a questioning look, "Ever given blood before?"

Scud's jaw dropped and he scoffed angrily.

"B, I'm not letting that chick bite me!" he said firmly.

Blade shook his head and walked over to the corner where they kept their medical supplies and soon came back with an empty I.V. bag, a large needle, some tape and a long tubing. He shook the bag with a smile.

"Aw, B, come on..."

"Scud, would you rather she get so hungry during the night she drains you in your sleep?" Blade asked with a cocked eyebrow.

Scud shuddered as he thought about waking up to fangs embedded in his jugular and shook his head rapidly.

"Where do you want to do this?" he asked with a sigh.

"Couch works," Blade said simply. He set the supplies down on the coffee table and Scud laid down on the couch with a very heavy sigh.

Lea watched in silent fascination as Blade put the supplies in order. He connected one end of the tubing to the I.V. bag and laid it on the floor, squeezing the tube to make sure it was open. He then took a rubber band and handed it to Lea.

"Can you put that on his arm?" he asked as he unwrapped the needle and I.V. catheter. Lea took it and looked down at Scud looking unsure.

"Just, slide it up to about here," he pointed to the middle of his upper arm. Lea did and then looked shocked when she released it and it sunk into the sink of his arm, cutting off the circulation, "It's alright, it's suppose to do that."

She nodded, wide eyed as Blade leaned down with the needle.

"Make a fist a few times," Blade ordered and Scud obeyed before he slid the needle into the vein that popped up when he did. Scud hissed and bit his lip hard at the sharp sting. "Lea, give me a strip of that tape."

When the catheter was secure, Blade hooked the tubing to it and nodded in satisfaction as the bag began to fill on the floor.

"Does it hurt?" Lea whispered in amazement.

"Not too bad," Scud said grimly, "It's not comfortable at all, for sure."

Soon, Blade clamped the tube and unhooked the bag and sealed it. He handed it to Lea and then removed the catheter from Scud's arm, pressing a cottonball to it tightly.

"Hold that," he said simply and Scud held it while Blade grabbed the tape and made an X over the cottonball and secured it by wrapping it all the way around.

Scud sat up slowly, feeling his head swim slightly, and smiled slightly in thanks when Lea handed him a glass of water. He sipped it slowly while his body replenished what he'd lost.

"Can...can I...?" Lea asked nervously, holding the bag of fresh blood almost gingerly.

"Didn't suck it out of me for nothin'," Scud mumbled, "Have at it."

Lea hesitated for a moment longer but then gave in to her thirst and sunk her fangs through the plastic of the bag. Scud watched in morbid fascination as she sucked his blood from the bag and was shocked at how quickly it disappeared...damn, no wonder humans died so quickly when a vamp latched on.

When the bag was empty, Lea set it down on the coffee table and brushed her lips with the back of her hand, she looked...a bit sorry.

"There," Blade said simply, "Crisis averted. Now, don't bother me again tonight."

Scud and Lea watched Blade retreat back to his room in silence. Scud decided to avoid the awkwardness of the moment and made his way back to his workshop where the silver he'd melted had cooled once again so he restarted the melting. He felt Lea walk up behind him and out of the corner of his eye he saw her take her seat in front of the tv again. Scud joined her once he had the heat right and he fiddled with the tape on his arm for lack of anything else to do as they watched the tv in silence.

"If it's any consolation," Lea whispered after a long time, "That was the best tasting blood I've ever had."

Scud looked over at her in surprise, but something about the simple way she'd said it tickled his funny bone and he found himself laughing loudly, which must have eased her mind because she smiled and started to giggle too.

Maybe she wasn't so bad...

**#LoverNotAFighter#**

**There you go! Hope you guys are liking it so far! :D Not enough Scud stories out there, don't you agree?! We need more...(hint hint, peeps!)**

**Hit the review button and leave me some feedback! I love it :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**Song of the Day: I Faked It- Jasmine Rae**

**Glad to see people are open to this story and that it's caught some of your interest :) So, I shall continue!**

**#TheBlackKnightReturns#**

Scud groaned loudly and rolled over to squint at the sunlight invading his room...wait, sunlight!? That thought made him throw the sheets off of him and jump up, he was out the door and down the steps in a flash, his eyes wide as he scanned the warehouse. Sunlight streamed in from the windows he swore he'd locked down last night and he grabbed his hair in stressful disbelief.

"Oh my god," he muttered darkly, then he spun around and searched the room for a pile of charcoal that would have once been Lea. "Lea!?"

"Scud!?" he heard a frightened voice coming from the direction of his workshop and he let out a relieved breath as he made his way quickly over. He found Lea huddled in the corner behind a pile of metal scraps in an area of shade.

"What the fuck?" he asked, "I KNOW I locked those down last night! I know I did!"

"It was me," Lea said softly, sounding sheepish. "I was looking around last night because I was bored and...I backed into the wall on accident and I guess I hit the button to open them."

Scud stared at her in disbelief and suddenly felt the hilarity of the situation hit him and he burst out laughing. Lea glared at him from the shadows.

"It's not funny!" she hissed, "I could have died!"

"You're a total klutz, aren't you?" he asked as he smacked the button on the wall to close the windows. Lea waited patiently as the heavy metal shutters slid shut and then she slipped out of the corner.

"Not when I'm fighting," she said honestly, "But sometimes when I'm not paying attention I tend to...trip over things and stuff like that."

"Yep, you're a klutz," Scud said with a teasing grin, but Lea didn't look amused at all...she was staring at him with utter shock on her face. And that was the moment Scud realized he'd ran out so fast he hadn't thrown on a shirt or anything and he was standing there in his boxers...suddenly he felt like a complete idiot. "Oh...whoops. Be right back!"

He bolted up the stairs and across the platform to his room and quickly pulled on his oversized cargos, a t-shirt and a button up shirt and then his boots. Then he rolled his eyes, inwardly chastising himself as he made his way back down to the workshop. Lea was sitting on the stool in front of the tv but she wasn't watching it, she was staring at him as he walked in.

He chose to ignore her and avoid her awkward gaze and leaned over his workbench to tinker with some of the half finished projects scattered around. He leaned his elbows on the counter as he twisted a half assembled UV bomb in his hand, not truly working on it at all but attempting to look busy while he gathered his thoughts. But his thoughts went flying out the window when he felt a cold hand slide up the front of his shirt and he jerked away to the side, eyes wide like a deer in the headlights.

"What the fuck are you doing!?" he snapped, much more sharp than he intended.

"What happened?" Lea asked quietly, not at all daunted by his anger. "Where did those scars come from?"

Scud stepped back further and hung his head slightly.

"Vampires," he finally replied, as simply as if he'd just told her what his favorite color was. He watched her expression go from concern to horror and she stepped back, shaking her head.

"Oh my god..." she whispered, her hand slowly rose to cover her wide open mouth, "What happened?"

"I was camping a few years back, before I knew vampires even existed," Scud began the story he would never be able to shake from his memory, sometimes it still haunted his dreams at night although he would never admit it to anyone. "Met these two girls out in the woods and invited 'em back to my tent for...well, you know it gets kinda boring out there alone if you get my drift? Well, we all got along just fine until they start tearing my stomach open."

Lea's eyes got wide and scared looking.

"But you're alive!" she said in disbelief, "And you didn't turn?"

"They didn't bite me," Scud stated grimly, "When I said 'tearing' I meant it. Just...pulling my skin back in sections like opening a cardboard box. Blade showed up...saved my life, and told me all about vampires. And then he offered me a job here as his technician."

Lea looked like she was going to be sick.

"No wonder humans hate us so much..." she whispered sadly. "I'm sorry that happened to you."

Scud squinted at her, trying to figure her out. She was definitely different than any vamp he'd ever met. Nyssa was nice enough, but even she believed there could be no peace between their species.

"It's not your fault," Scud reasoned, "And they won't be doing it again..."

"Blade killed them?"

"Mmhm," Scud bit his lip and nodded, wondering how she would take that news. She looked sad and she hung her head.

"I...I've been told my whole life that WE are the victims in this war," she whispered slowly, "I was raised and trained to kill humans, to be a soldier. I've never even seen one until you. You're nothing like what I was told."

"Yeah?" Scud was interested despite his better judgment. He knew he shouldn't even be getting involved with this chick but...he was morbidly interested in what she was all about. "What have you heard about us?"

Lea sighed heavily and sat down on "her" stool, her gold colored eyes settled on her boots.

"I was always told that humans were dangerous, mean, horrible creatures with no feelings and no emotions," she admitted softly, "I was kept underground my whole life, never allowed to go topside, never allowed to have any contact with humans or even have contact with the familiars. I only saw pictures...terrible pictures...pictures of humans slicing vampire's heads off, stabbing us with silver and that sort of thing."

Scud sniffed angrily. Brainwashing is what it was, plain and simple. But what he wanted to know was...why? What the hell was the point?

"Well, that's...something new," he mumbled as he pulled himself up onto his workbench by his palms, sitting with his legs swinging as he lit a joint.

"I was told that I should never trust a human if I came in contact with one because they pretend to be nice and then they turn around and stab you in the back, literally!" Lea continued, not looking up. "And they also said humans would rape me...whatever that means."

Scud choked on the smoke he'd just inhaled and smacked his chest trying to clear his lungs so he could argue that point but he couldn't stop hacking for a long time and Lea moved on.

"Obviously they never told me humans were our food source," she griped, "Of course not, they couldn't or I would have put two and two together and realized you DO have a reason to hate us. If I knew there were people out there trying to suck me dry around every corner, I'd hate them too."

"I don't hate vampires," Scud rasped, his lungs finally cooperated with his brain.

Lea looked up at that statement, her eyes twinkling in the artificial lights of the warehouse. She gave him a small smile.

"Would you hate me if I told you I was hungry?" she asked weakly.

Scud winced and took another drag of marijuana tinted smoke as he thought of a reply.

"Naw, we all gotta eat," he reasoned calmly, "Call Blade, I guess..."

"I don't want to keep drinking yours..." Lea said slowly.

Scud scrunched his eyebrows. Why the hell did he feel insulted by that statement?! _The fuck is wrong with you, brain?!_

"Yeah?" he asked, blowing a smoke bubble off the tip of his tongue. "Why not? Something wrong with it?"

Lea giggled.

"No, not at all," she said with a smile, "It's very, very tasty. But I don't think it's healthy to keep drinking the same blood. That would be like...you eating only steak and nothing else."

Scud rubbed the scruff on his chin thoughtfully and raise an eyebrow as he cocked his head. It DID make sense in a sick kind of way.

"Well...then I guess we'll get Whistler down here," he said with a wicked smile. Oh man, he'd give anything if Lea would just drain the old fucker. It sure would get the annoying man out of his hair.

"I feel terrible about this..." Lea muttered as she stood. Scud jumped off his bench with far too much pep for the current situation.

"You can't feel guilty every time you have to eat," he mused, "You'll be guilty an awful lot if you do."

Scud and Lea walked out of the workshop and turned to the right, making their way up the metal stairs to knock on Blade's door.

"Yo, B, vamp chick is hungry for the old man!"

Lea put her hands on her hips and gave him a disgusted look as she shook her head in annoyance.

"That's NOT what I said, Blade!" she called through the door. Scud pushed her aside with his hip.

"She's a damn liar, B!" he stated loudly, "She flat out said she didn't want me, she wanted him!"

Lea was about to shove him back and yell out her defense when the door swung open inwardly, making both of them jump. Blade was wearing his usualy shade so it was hard to tell his expression, but they both knew it was one of agitation.

"What is going on?!" he demanded angrily, yet with a coolness that was highly unnerving to Scud. Always had been.

"She's hungry," he pointed at Lea with his thumb.

Blade sighed and nodded.

"Of course," he said, much more calmly. "Scud, go get Whistler."

Scud almost groaned out loud, but he bit the inside of his lip...the 'still tender from a healing tattoo' inside of his lip and turned on his heels to walk to Whistler's room down the walkway. He knocked loudly, rudely on the metal door.

"W, get your pruned old ass downstairs," he yelled, "B, wants you to feed the vamp."

The door flung open to reveal a very annoyed Whistler, but Scud was already at the top of the stairs and headed down, a wicked grin on his face as Whistler began muttering and shaking his fist at him. He could just imagine the old man using words like "whippersnapper" and "scamp" and "hellion" and that drew a chuckle from him as he plopped down on the couch next to Lea.

"You're awful to him..." she commented.

"Yeah, well, he ain't exactly a saint himself," Scud muttered quietly. Whistler came over, eyeing Scud with utter loathing but rolled up his left sleeve anyway.

"Alright, let's get this shit over with," he groused, "I've got a shitload of stuff to do. Starting with teaching that asswipe a lesson in respecting his elders."

There was a clear and present threat in Whistler's steely eyes when he said it and Scud returned the look with a cheeky grin, knowing full well how much Whistler hated that he couldn't touch him while Blade was there.

He and Lea stood as Whistler laid back on the couch, waiting for Blade to start the I.V.

"Ya gotta watch?" Whistler growled, "Go gossip somewhere else for a bit, I'll bring it to ya."

Lea ducked her head in embarrassment and nodded mutely as she side stepped away and headed for the stairs. Scud gave Whistler an angry glare and then followed her.

"He IS kind of rough..." she admitted when they settled on the third step up. "Is he always that mean?"

"Not always," Scud admitted, "Just mostly."

Lea was silent for a bit as she looked around at the high ceiling of the warehouse, she watched a bird that was flitting in the rafters for a long time and then looked back at Scud who had begun to fidget with a loose thread in his cargo pants' hem.

"So, you don't hate us, huh?" she asked, her eyes inquisitive, "Even after you were flayed by some of us."

Scud chewed his finger and stared at a support beam across the warehouse as he thought about the question for a bit.

"Naw, not really," he finally stated, "I mean, look at it this way, humans kill each other too but...I don't hate all humans because of a few serial killers. Not all vamps are bloodthirsty killers."

"Well..." Lea mulled over his choice of words. "We ARE all bloodthirsty, actually."

He jerked his head to look at her and a crooked, closed lipped grin appeared, his eyes were amused and mischievous at the same time underneath the strands of his hair that hung into his face. Lea wasn't sure why, but her stomach did a weird little jerk and she placed a hand there in surprise.

"That was weird," she muttered out loud to herself.

"What?" Scud asked, his expression had changed to confusion.

"I just..." she shook her head, "Nothing, just hungry is all."

Perfectly timed, Blade walked up and held out the bag of freshly drawn blood to her. She nodded her thanks as she took it from him and smiled over at Whistler who simply waved in dismissal.

"You...uh...mind if I...?" she asked nervously as she pointed at the bag, Scud shook his head.

"Go ahead," he said simply, "I'm not that queasy."

Lea nodded and licked her lips before sinking her fangs into the bag and began to drain it quickly. Scud didn't watch though, he just stared straight ahead, lost in thought. Thinking about his choices, about Damaskinos , and about Reinhart and Chupa who would probably not even think twice about latching onto him and sucking him dry...wondering if being a familiar would actually be what he was hoping. He wasn't the type of familiar who wanted to become a vampire after accepted in...he like being human, and he wanted to stay that way. But staying human and being surrounded by vampires who want to eat you...

"Don't break your brain," Lea's voice cut into his worrying and he jerked slightly as he came back down to reality. He turned his head and gave her a half smile.

"Yeah, you're right," he said with a nod, "Best save my head for work. Which, I need to get to. Um, bon appetite."

Lea gave him a funny look, but her fangs remained in the bag as she drank it like a Capri Sun. He shook his head at that terrible analogy and made his way to his workshop to take his mind off of what he knew was coming soon. The inevitable confrontation, reveal...betrayal. He squared his shoulders and pulled out another pre-rolled joint to try and calm himself down, to return to that state of dope induce euphoria where he usually was...stoned and happy.

**#TheDarkKnightReturns#**

**Yay! That chapter went pretty fast once I sat down to write it! So...question for my readers: Tell me some human experiences that Lea needs to be a part of! Because I can think of a few but I'd LOVE some input! Hit me up on that review button!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Song of the Day: Candyman- Christina Aguilera (Originally, The Andrews Sisters)**

**Nothing to say, honestly...getting my hair chopped off again tomorrow...I like it short and choppy and messy cute :)**

**#*AreYouStillDisappointed*#**

Scud wasn't sure still what Blade's purpose was in bringing this sheltered, innocent-of-the-world vampire into their warehouse, and he didn't know at ALL why he'd decided he would be the best one to show her the ropes either. However, Scud realized, as he leaned on his workbench watching cartoons over Lea's shoulder, he liked having her around in a weird kind of way. She was so...naive.

She'd been with them a few days now and she was starting to loosen up more around him, not shying away from him, not jumping if he came up behind her without her knowing, didn't look at him like some undiscovered creature anymore.

_"You know something, Scud?" she had stated just the other day, "I've decided I really like humans."_

_"Why's that?" Scud had asked, curious._

_"You're so...loveable," she had replied, making Scud cock an eyebrow as he snuffed a joint out on the concrete floor. "Humans just seem to have a joke for everything and you smile a lot and you're so accepting of what I am, you AND Whistler."_

_"W's loveable?" Scud had laughed, "Me, yes, but that old fart?"_

_Lea had giggled at that and pulled herself onto his workbench, giving him quite an uninterrupted view of her upper thigh as her skirt rode up. He had shaken his head and tried to rid the thoughts that popped into his half-stoned, hormone riddled scumbag brain._

_"Yes, even Whistler," she confirmed, "But you're much more fun. You make me laugh like I've never laughed before, Scud. I...I hate my own kind!"_

_"You don't mean that, do you?" Scud had asked in surprise._

_"I do!" Lea's voice was curt and sharp, "They lied to me my whole life, told me I was safer underground and that humans hated us and wanted us all dead and that humans were dangerous and horrible. They kept me from experiencing ANYTHING outside of what THEY deemed necessary. I hate that I'm so ignorant of everything your world has to offer."_

That had been how it all started. Scud had offered her a puff from his joint, which she accepted nervously and it had sent her into a gagging/coughing fit, and she had turned into a whole new person. She had immediately taken another puff and was soon smoking like a stovepipe...and now she was determined to try anything she could think of that humans had to offer. As if she heard his thoughts, Lea turned on her stool and smiled.

"I want to learn how to cook," she stated simply, pointing at the screen where a cookbook advertisement was showing.

"Why?" Scud laughed, "You don't eat nothin' but blood."

"Well...you and Whistler can eat it," she stated slowly, "And it's not that I CAN'T eat it, I just don't...need it. It doesn't satisfy, only weighs me down."

"Well I ain't no cook," Scud held his hands up, excusing himself from the obligation of teaching her the skill. "You're gonna have to get a whole 'nother human to help you with that."

"With what?" as if on cue, Whistler walked in with an arm full of empty shotgun shells that he deposited in a large container of empty bullet cases and such for Scud to refill with silver.

"Lea wants to learn to cook, W," Scud stated, almost teasingly as he grinned at Lea, "Don't suppose you could teach her?"

"Actually," Whistler gave Scud an annoyed squint, "I CAN."

#*AreYouStillDisappointed*#

Scud sat on the barstool on the opposite side of the counter, his elbow propped on it as he rested his chin in his palm to watch the hilarity of Lea's cooking lesson unfold.

"How can you tell which one of these things to use?" she asked for the third time, holding up the teaspoon and tablespoon. "This recipe just says "t"!"

"Big t or little t?" Whistler sighed heavily. Lea cocked her head for a moment before she picked up the cookbook and looked closer.

"They're all different," she stated in confusion.

"Well let's break this down," Whistler said calmly. Scud was amazed at the man's sudden easiness with the vampire and how he was being almost kind to her...more kind than he'd ever even pretended to be with Scud. "What's the first ingredient?"

"Baking soda," Lea read out loud.

"Is it a big t by or a little one?" Whistler asked patiently.

"A...little one," Lea replied, "Oh! Little t is the little spoon?"

"Yes. Little t is teaspoon, which is the smaller one. So if you see a half and then a little t, it's half a teaspoon. A big t is a tablespoon."

Lea's face lit up and Scud found himself smiling as he watched her dump the teaspoons and tablespoons of ingredients in the bowl of flour with a look of pride on her face. She seemed so happy as she dumped the flour and spice mixture into the egg and oil mix and began to stir it into a thick batter.

"Can you hand me that, Scud?" Lea asked brightly, pointing at the cookie sheets behind him. He reached back and took one and handed it to her, watching as she began to drop spoonfuls of batter on it in a pattern. Finally, she filled it and she turned and pushed it into the oven and set the timer then stepped back with a satisfied nod. "Alright, we'll have sugar cookies in a little bit, guys!"

"Gonna make icing?" Scud asked as he struck a match on the counter to light his joint.

"How?" Lea looked crestfallen and worried. "I don't know how to."

"Easy," Scud shrugged, he pushed the jug of milk towards her. "Mix milk and powdered sugar together with a little bit of cornstarch."

"Do we even HAVE cornstarch?" Whistler asked.

"No clue," Scud admitted, lazily sliding off the barstool to check the cabinets, he rifled through them until he came to a faded yellow box and scanned the label. "Yep, don't know why, but yep."

Lea took the box in her right hand, the powdered sugar was already in her left and she stood there looking lost. Scud sighed, it was his idea so he decided he should probably just show her. He stepped up beside her, snuffed his joint out on the floor and rolled up his sleeves. Lea handed him the powdered sugar when he motioned for it and he poured some into the empty bowl Whistler had set there.

"Now, add some milk to it," he said as he searched the drawers for a spoon. Lea poured a little in and he stirred it, telling her to add a little more every once in a while, then she poured a small amount of cornstarch in to make it firm up a bit and Scud dipped his finger in it to taste test it...but Lea beat him to it. Scud watched in stunned amazement as the vampire grabbed his wrist and leaned her head slightly and sucked his finger into her mouth quickly and then slowly lifted her head, her tongue wrapping around to get the last bits of icing before she stepped back and licked her lips.

"Mm, that's delicious, Scud!" she said happily, turning around to dump the dirty dishes into the sink.

Scud stood there in shock, staring at his now slick with saliva finger with an expression of confused delight.

"Don't get any bright ideas, toke boy," Whistler's growl in his ear brought him back to reality and he found the old man giving him a dark and knowing look. "When Blade asked you to show her the ropes he didn't mean the way you're thinkin'."

"Don't even pretend to know what's going on in my mind, grandpa," Scud stated lowly, trying to keep Lea from hearing their disagreement. She always seemed to get upset whenever the two of them went at it. "You're just bitter cause you've never had a woman do anything like that to your wrinkled old ass."

Scud shrunk back against the counter as Whistler stepped forward threateningly, but luckily Lea chose that moment to turn around and walk back over to them as the sink filled with water. She was smiling brightly and Scud let out a relieve breath as Whistler backed away, his eyes still threatening. The oven went off and Whistler gave him one last dirty look before going over to show Lea how to get the trays out without burning her hands. Scud retired to the barstool again and watched Lea with calculating eyes as she laid the cookies out to cool and kept stirring the icing to keep it from drying out.

An awkward silence fell on them all as they stared blankly at the cooling cookies and Scud's mind started wandering back to Lea's mouth wrapped tightly around his finger, tongue swiping around as she licked the sticky, white icing off...it was too ironic of an image to ignore and his mind soon had his finger replaced with something quite different and he felt that familiar twitch in his pants. He shook his head hard and forced himself to think of the two vampire chicks ripping him wide open...that one always killed the libido very effectively.

"I'm...hungry..." Lea's voice cut into his head and he glanced over at her almost nonchalantly.

"Yeah?" he muttered, then turned around on the barstool and cupped a hand around his mouth, "HEY, B!"

Blade appeared above them on the walkway moments later.

"I'm sorry, Blade," Lea called up, "But...tell you the truth, I really need to feed."

Blade nodded and disappeared back into his room for a minute, then reappeared and walked down the stairs to the kitchen. He grabbed a cookie without a word and ate it, not even seeming to care how hot it was. Scud poked one of the cookies on the counter and gave Blade a look of amusement when he felt how hot they still were.

"Want me on the couch?" he asked blankly, knowing Lea was going to want the variety as she'd had a bag of Whistler's blood that morning.

"Not necessarily," Blade replied mysteriously. He reached into the inside pocket of his trench coat and pulled out a syringe filled with a bluish-black liquid. "Scud...come here."

"Why?" Scud tensed up at the sight of the needle. "What is that?"

"Something I've been working on," Blade replied, "A sort of...vaccine."

"To vampire venom?" Whistler stepped forward, interested. "Does it work?"

"It does," Blade nodded as Whistler examined the syringe, "Although not long term. "Scud."

Scud shook his head quickly and stepped back.

"Uh, uh, B," he held his hands up, palms forward, "I'm not a fuckin' guinea pig."

"It works, Scud," Blade stated simply, "I've tested it and it works. So get over here or I can always drain you with the next I.V."

"I..." but Blade was across the space that separated them in a flash and Scud felt the prick of the injection in his arm before he could even react.

"Fuck!" he yelped when Blade stepped back, "What the hell are you putting it in me for?!"

"She prefers your blood," Blade said simply, before turning to Lea.

"Can't imagine why," Whistler muttered, "Probably tastes like tobacco and weed."

"Sounds good to me," Scud muttered, feeling like he could use a bit of both right now as he rubbed his arm where he'd been injected.

"If you're hungry, eat," Blade stated simply to Lea, who looked up at him in confusion.

"I...I can't...they..." she stuttered, before comprehension dawned on her face, "Vaccine..."

"He won't turn," Blade said darkly, "Just...control yourself and he'll be fine."

With that, Blade jerked his head at Whistler and they walked to the car, stopping at the workshop to pick up some UV bombs and some clips of silver bullets. When the doors opened, Scud saw it was dark outside and knew they were going hunting. The doors closed with a metallic clang and Lea sighed heavily when she turned to Scud.

"Scud...if you're not ok with this..."

"I don't even know what the fuck's going on!" Scud admitted, slightly panicked. Had Blade just literally fed him to the vampires?

"That injection," Lea whispered, "I can bite you and you won't turn."

Scud's jaw dropped and his eyes widened in horror. He immediately shut his mouth when he saw the embarrassed and ashamed look on Lea's face. This wasn't her fault...he shouldn't be freaking out about this. He knew she wouldn't do it if he told her not to...

"Well then," he heard himself saying even as his mind screamed 'Hell no!', "I guess you better get it over with then."

Lea looked surprise at his response and he FELT surprised, he was pretty sure his face shouted something a whole lot more horrified than the calmness of his voice portrayed. The thought of those fangs sinking into him was enough to make him want to throw up.

"Are you sure?" Lea asked, blinking in surprise. Scud nodded mutely and scuffed the floor with his boot, scared as Hell.

"You gotta eat, right?" he muttered, "Just...take it easy, huh?"

Lea smiled gently and she reached out and took his hand, pulling him towards the couch. Scud looked down at their hands and he felt his fingers twitch in her cold, firm grasp. No warmth there whatsoever from her fifty degree body temperature and yet...he liked it. He was a sick son of a bitch.

"Here," Lea said gently, turning his back towards the couch. Scud sighed heavily but sat down without a word, his blue eyes locked on her face as he tried to read what she was thinking. She gave him a small smile and knelt down beside his right leg, taking his hand in hers again. He almost grinned until she turned his hand over and exposed his wrist...then the horrible reality of what he had agreed to finally hit him full force.

"Oh God..." he felt his stomach clench painfully and he wanted so badly to yank his arm back out of her grip. But the way her big golden eyes stared up at him in embarrassed hesitance made him take a deep breath and remain still.

"What?" she asked, letting go of his arm like he'd burned her. "Oh my god, I'm sorry, I don't know what I'm even thinking..."

"Hey," Scud let his tone soften and he placed his hand on her shoulder gently. "Lea, I'm not mad or grossed out or nothing. It just...my mind is telling me it's really stupid to let my only known predator have at me like that."

"You don't have to," Lea reminded him gently, "I'd never hurt you on purpose, Scud."

Scud gulped lightly and worried his bottom lip with his teeth before holding his hand back out, wrist up.

"Just...take it easy," he said weakly, seeing her eyes dilate as she took a deep breath through her nose. He knew she could smell the blood pumping through him and his nervousness increased a little more as she held his forearm in both hands, one bracing just beneath his elbow and one on the back of his hand to pull it down slightly, making his wrist pop up slightly.

"I'll be careful," Lea promised a moment before she placed her mouth on the tender skin of his wrist.

At first, it felt like a kiss to Scud, soft and purposeful...until her fangs brushed against him and he held his breath as he waited for the bite. The feeling of Lea's fangs sinking into him made him bite his bottom lip hard enough to draw a little blood and draw a whimper from his throat. She glanced up him, a question in her eyes but he let out a shaky breath and shook his head, only then did he feel the light suction from her fangs as they drew the blood from his veins. And only then did Scud realize something else...it felt amazing.

The penetration was sharp and slicing pain, but it soon dulled into a warm throb as the blood was drawn out of him rapidly. He felt like the first time he'd smoked weed, that heavy lidded, peaceful feeling flooded his entire body and he let his eyes drop closed as he savored the feeling...yeah, he was right earlier, he was a sick son of a bitch. Sick.

But all too soon, there was a sharp jolt of pain from his wrist and his eyes shot open as he let out a painful gasp. Lea was looking at him with concern.

"I hope I didn't take too much," she said, worry in her tone. "I...I've never fed this way before, I don't know when to stop."

Scud thought about it for a moment and then had an idea. He motioned for her to give him a little room and then slowly stood to his feet. He squinted as he tried to focus through the odd euphoric fog in his brain and blinked a few times. then he swung his arm a few times and took a step. He felt a little woozy but no more than if he'd given blood at the Red Cross...which he never had done before due to the marijuana that consistently tainted his veins.

"We're good," he claimed, sitting back down. He looked at his wrist and winced at the two inflamed holes that were still oozing blood. Lea looked too and before Scud could even think, she leaned over and ran her tongue over them, clearing the blood away. Scud watched in amazement as the blood immediately stopped flowing. "How'd you do that?"

Lea smiled.

"Anti coagulant in vampire's saliva," she replied simply, "Seals it right up in case we need to keep said human alive for another time."

"I don't like how you worded that," Scud muttered grimly, thinking of the times he'd seen feedings at Damaskinos' meetings and gatherings.

"I'm sorry," Lea whispered, "Are you scared of us, Scud?"

Scud considered this question for a moment.

"Yeah," he finally answered, his eyes locked on a snag in the couch cushion, "I mean...we all are, humans. Wouldn't you be scared of something that can swat you like a fly?"

Lea sighed and stood up, then she plopped down on the couch next to him.

"Are you scared of me?"

"Tell you the truth, I was when Blade first brought you here," Scud admitted, "You were a wild thing. You tried to kill me, remember? Threatened to snap my neck like a toothpick."

"I do remember that..." Lea admitted sadly, "I'm sorry I scare you."

"Scared," Scud stated firmly, "You don't scare me now. Hell, look what I just let you do! I trust you."

"I trust you too, Scud," Lea whispered, leaning her head gently on his shoulder.

That did it. That meek little confession and that motion of trust hit Scud right in the heart. He stood up quickly, his mind screaming at him, calling him a traitor, Judas, turn coat, Lucrezia Borgia, Benedict Arnold...she had no idea what he had planned, no idea who he was. And for the first time in a long time, Scud wished he could change who he was.

**#*AreYouStillDisappointed*#**

**Thanks for the feedback, guys! I love to see what people are thinking of my writings :) Keep 'em comin and I'll do my best to keep the chapters coming as well!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Song of the Day: Second Chance- Faber Drive**

**Skipping EMT class tonight in favor of going home early for the weekend...I'm such a terrible student. Oh well, we all need to skip once in a while. And so, while I wait for my sister to get ready to go I figured I'd write for a bit :)**

**#Papa'sGotABrandNewBag#**

Lea wandered out of her room sometime in the late afternoon to find the warehouse filled with loud, hard rock music and she smiled, knowing Blade and Whistler must be gone because Scud never blasted his music when they were there. She liked these times, when it was just she and him because he was so much more at ease when Whistler wasn't there to make fun of him or put him down.

She walked silently down the steps and peaked into his workshop around the corner but he wasn't standing at the workbench like she'd expected so she scrunched her brow in confusion and looked around, trying to locate his red cargo pants and slightly obnoxious Hawaiian button up, but she didn't see him anywhere.

"Scud?" she called out loud, shaking her head at her stupidity, he'd never hear her over the music. She walked around until she finally spotted his legs sticking out from underneath the van parked on the other side of Blade's usual parking spot. She smiled and walked over, turning down the radio suddenly. For a moment, Scud continued singing along before he realized the music was gone and he pushed himself out from under the van on the rolling platform he was laid back on with an annoyed look on his face, but it turned to smile when he saw her.

"Hey, Lea," he said as he stood up and kicked the platform half under the van. He had a wrench in his hand and was wearing a white tank top, his long hair was pulled back in a tiny ponytail on the back of his neck, he was slick with sweat and splotched with grease and oil and dirt and Lea thought he looked absolutely adorable like that.

"What are you working on?" Lea asked, shaking her head to make her mind focus on what he was saying instead of the way his blue eyes were sparkling and clear, obviously lacking the usual weed induced haze..goodness but they were pretty.

"Just checking the brake lines and stuff," Scud said nonchalantly, tossing the wrench casually into a toolbox nearby with a clang. "Just keeping things up to snuff. Been working on Blade's car all morning, so I figured why not work on the van too while I was at it."

Lea nodded, seemed logical to her.

"You're dirty," she commented, wanting to smack herself as soon as the words came out.

Scud looked down at himself and then spread his arms out with a wicked grin. Lea saw the glint in his eyes and she backed away quickly.

"Don't even THINK about it!" she said, narrowing her eyes as he stepped forward like a cat about to pounce.

"Too late!" Scud said loudly and grabbed her as she turned to run and pulled her close in a smothering, sweaty, oily hug which caused Lea to squeal and giggle as she wiggled only slightly. He wasn't fooled, this chick could flatten him if she wanted to, she was letting him do this. He let her go after a few moments and she turned to give him an amused squinty look of annoyance.

"Gross!" she stated, wiping a spot of oil off her shoulder.

Scud rolled his eyes and reached for a rag to wipe off some of the grime. Pretty much all he managed to do was smear it around and he sighed as he looked at his blackened palms.

"Guess I better get a shower," he commented.

"Um..." Lea scuffed the floor with her shoe, "Before you do..."

"Hungry?" Scud guessed. Lea nodded. "Well, come on then."

She was surprised by his total lack of annoyance or disgust or hesitation, but she followed him to the couch despite her confusion and sat down while he went to the kitchen and ran a towel under the water to clean himself off wherever she wanted to bite this time.

"So, where do you want to...?" Scud questioned as he sat on the coffee table so as not to get dirt or grease on the couch.

"Um..." Lea blushed and looked him up and down, trying to decide the best place to bite, maybe somewhere less painful or less obvious. "Wherever you want."

"Lea, how the hell am I suppose to decide that?" Scud laughed, "Not like I enjoy this or nothin'."

Something about the tone of his voice made Lea unsure, but...it sounded like he was being defensive.

"Fine then," she shrugged, grabbing the towel from him quickly. She held out her hand and he slowly, nervously, held out his wrist, but she took hold of his hand and pulled his arm forward and rubbed the towel in the crease of his arm.

"Damn," he muttered, "I knew you were gonna pick there,"

"Really?" Lea asked, surprised.

"Naw, just wanted to psych you out," Scud replied with a snarky smile.

Lea tossed the towel aside and eyed the now clean patch of pale skin that she was about to devastate, she felt her stomach clench painfully at the thought of her fangs sinking into that warm, smooth skin and the pain he was about to go through for her. She hated herself for this desire, this ridiculous need for blood. But she also could smell, hear and feel the blood in his arm beneath her fingers and she remembered how good he tasted, like no other blood she'd ever tasted before, he was sweeter, wilder, less pure than the packets she'd been fed her whole life.

"Lea?" Scud's surprisingly soft voice cut into her thoughts and she blinked her eyes a few times as she looked down at him. He was looking up at her with a worried look on his face. "Stop beating yourself up about this."

"How'd you know?"

"Because I'm just great at reading people."

"I'm not a person."

Scud didn't say anything, but she saw the annoyance in his face. She didn't feel like discussing this right now and he looked like he was about to say something so she quickly knelt down between his knees and pressed her mouth to the crease of his arm, letting her fangs sink deep into the warm, sweet, saltiness of his skin and down into his veins. As she drank deeply from this fascinating well of human delicacy, she heard him sigh lightly and she opened her eyes in surprise, glancing up at him. His eyes were closed and his head tilted back slightly, but there was no look of pain on his face like she had expected to see, instead there was a look of...ecstasy? No way was she reading that right, was she? She withdrew her fangs and saw a flash of pain in his features before he opened his eyes and looked down at her with a smile.

"Not so bad," he said with a shrug, "Not as bad as the wrist, that was kind of tender."

Lea barely heard what he was saying to her as she watched his face. The way his eyes avoided staying on hers for too long, the way his cheeks twitched as he smiled and the way his lips were moving to form his words...something inside her came to life, something she didn't know existed before. She wanted to do something that seemed utterly ridiculous to her, but also...it felt right.

Without a word, or a warning, or even a sign, Lea raised herself up straight on her knees and turned to him. She quickly placed her hands on either side of his face and pushed herself forward, colliding her lips against his a little roughly. She heard him inhale sharply and his whole body tensed up as her lips searched his, but his surprise must have wore off because she soon felt his lips returning her gesture and she wondered if this was something he'd done before, she wondered if this was something totally weird she'd just come up with...if so, he was taking it rather well. Finally, Lea came to her senses and imagined what he must be thinking of her and her weird new thing so she pulled back and looked away in shame.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, mortified, "I have no idea what that was or what brought it on. It just...it seemed like the right thing to do."

Scud was looking at her in shock, but he didn't look mad or sickened or anything...he looked a little bit please, actually.

"Damn, girl," he said breathlessly, "You just thought kissing me was the right thing to do?"

"Kissing? What does that mean?"

Scud cocked an eyebrow at her.

"That. What we just did. That's called kissing."

"Oh...wait, you've done that before?" Lea's eyes widened in surprise.

"Yeah, lots of times," Scud shrugged, "But...I can honestly say I've never kissed a girl who had my blood in her mouth before. That was a little weird."

"Oh, gosh, I'm sorry, Scud!" Lea groaned in embarrassment. "I don't know why I did that!"

"Well...humans usually do it when we think the other person is attractive," Scud offered with a wink. "In your case I'm thinking it had something to do with bloodlust."

"I do think you're attractive," Lea defended without even thinking.

Scud's eyes widened and Lea clapped a hand over her mouth, looking horrified at her statement. She didn't know when she had even realized it, but yes...he WAS attractive. Was it even remotely right for a vampire to be attracted to a human? Lea didn't really know, but she was going to find out.

"I've got to go to my room," she stated quickly, standing up and running up to her room in a flash, leaving a still bleeding and very confused Scud still sitting on the coffee table.

"Well...shit..." she heard him muttered before she slammed her door shut and locked it behind her.

**#Papa'sGotABrandNewBag#**

**Sorry it's short, but I figure I would just get Lea's first little bit of attraction settled into the story before I went to sleep for the night. More to come, please stay tuned...and reviews would be awesome as well :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm so excited for Season 3 of The Walking Dead...I can't even...I'm just...AUGH! ONLY SIX DAYS!**

**Anyway. *takes a deep breath* let's get into a Blade mood here. Ok. Go.**

**#How'stheWeatherUpThereSweetheart #**

Lea avoided Scud as much as possible, for as long as possible, for the rest of the day but it was impossible to do in such a small space. She grew tired of sitting in her room with its blank walls and mattress on the floor and she founder herself wandering down the stairs and around the corner into Scud's workshop where he was leaning on the table, holding something up to the lamp light with a dull look on his face.

"Hi," she called out sheepishly, causing him to jump in surprise and set down the little box thing, it kind of looked like a remote control.

"Hi," he replied quickly, his voice sounded a little higher pitched than normal and he cleared his throat. "Why'd you bolt?"

"I didn't bolt..." Lea argued weakly. "I just...needed some air."

"Air in your room, huh?" Scud teased.

"Yeah...or just...air that didn't have your scent in it." Lea hung her head.

"That bad?" Scud asked in surprise. "Or too damn good?"

Lea gave him a funny, unreadable look before she went over to her stool and pulled it to the edge of the worktable, eyes curious as she scanned the metal pieces laid out on it.

"What are you working on?" she asked quietly.

"Tweaking Whistler's guns," Scud replied simply, shrugging. "Always best to keep things fresh. Don't want the suckheads getting comfortable."

As soon as the words left his mouth, he looked over at her and cleared his throat.

"Sorry," he said quickly, "I forgot you're...I don't mean..."

"Relax, Scud," Lea laughed, "I'm not so fond of them either."

Scud smiled and shook his head as he started to reassemble to weapon in front of him.

"I like how you don't even consider yourself one of them anymore," he said, setting the assembled stock of the rifle down and started working on the rest of it. "I guess our human charm got to you."

"Mostly yours," Lea agreed, then she glanced around the warehouse in a bored way. "It's night time right now, isn't it?"

"Yup," Scud replied simply, stopping his work to light up a joint. He offered it to Lea first and she took it with a nod of thanks, took a drag, then handed it back. "Why?"

"I'd like you to teach me to drive."

Scud laughed then and Lea glared at him.

"Sorry, Lea, but why do you even care to know? Can't you just...run everywhere?" Scud leaned back on the workbench and eyed her curiously.

"I'm not superhuman, Scud, I'm just a vampire," Lea reminded him, "Sure, I am stronger and have more stamina, but I DO get tired."

Something flashed in Scud's eyes then, a little bit of mischief or something and Lea squinted at him, wondering what that odd look had been.

"Good stamina, huh?" Scud asked with a wicked grin.

"Yeah," Lea responded honestly, "Why?"

Scud shook his head with a smile and went back to putting the finishing pieces on the gun. When it was complete, he looked down the barrel and aimed the newly installed UV laser sight at the wall. It would go a lot further than the UV filter lights, like a sniper light kind of deal. Much more distance.

"Just clarifying," Scud said mysteriously, "So you want to learn to drive, huh?"

"Yes, please!" Lea clapped her hands together and put on a pleading face, over dramatizing on purpose.

Scud laughed and set the gun down, then he reached into his pocket and pulled out his ring of keys and jingled them in her face before tossing them to her.

"Come on then, let's get moving," he called as he walked towards the vehicles. Lea stared at the keys for a moment, but then followed quickly, full of excitement.

#How'sTheWeatherUpThereSweetheart #

"WHOA!"

Lea slammed on the break, sending Scud almost into the dashboard from the force. He braced himself and came back to a sitting position on the passenger seat with a _thump _and an "oof!". His eyes were wide as he turned his head and stared at her in shock.

"I said push the pedal down _gently_!" he squeaked, sliding down in the seat like sap on a tree trunk. "Geez, you're gonna kill us!"

Lea had the audacity to laugh!

"Scud this is so much fun!" she giggled, holding down the van's brake pedal with both feet.

"Fun until we both die!" Scud snapped, fear causing his voice to rise an octave. Lea looked at him and smiled brightly.

"We won't die," she scoffed good naturedly. "Well, YOU might, but I'd be fine."

"Just remember you've got a breakable human being in this van with you, sweetheart," Scud muttered, lighting a joint quickly to sooth his frayed nerves.

Lea nodded, suddenly looking serious about doing it right.

"Ok, so I put it in gear, release the clutch slowly and push _gently_ on the gas?" she did all these things in order and the van began to creep forward slowly.

"And don't forget to steer," Scud commented easily, watching her out of the corner of his eye while keeping focused on the road. "Because if you don't soon you're gonna hit that sign post...you might want to turn...NOW!"

Lea jerked the wheel at the last second and they were back on the street and Scud was clutching the door with both hands, staring out the window and trying to calm his breathing and heartbeat.

"Lea, please, I really like living," Scud whimpered.

Lea giggled nervously.

"I'm sorry, Scud, this is so much harder than it looks!"

"Hey, you're not doing so bad," Scud reassured her. The last thing anyone needed was her getting emotional behind the wheel!

"Can we go do something in the city tonight?" Lea asked suddenly. "Like go see a movie or something?"

Scud looked over at her and smiled.

"It's kind of late, Lea," he said apologetically, "But maybe tomorrow night if we get going as soon as the sun sets? I know you don't, but this guy needs sleep."

Lea sighed.

"It's really lonely at night in the warehouse," she admitted quietly, "You and Whistler sleep and Blade never comes out...plus he's scary."

Scud laughed lightly, but he knew what she meant. Blade could be pretty intimidating.

"Well, I'll tell you what," he said as he tossed his joint out the window. "Let me get a good night's sleep tonight and tomorrow we'll stay up all night and we'll go see a movie."

Lea grinned widely and drove them back to the warehouse without scaring Scud even once on the way.

#How'sTheWeatherUpThereSweetheart #

Once they got back to the warehouse, Scud made sure to lock down the place tight so no sunlight would get in and he made double rounds to make sure everything was kosher inside. Finally he joined Lea on the steps and she smiled up at him as he approached.

"You gonna sit there on the steps all night?" he asked as he hesitated on the step she sat on. He was tired, but he felt bad about just leaving her sitting there alone.

"Just go to bed, Scud," Lea laughed, "I promise you I won't sit here all night, so just relax."

Scud rolled his eyes with a smile, but took his leave and trotted up the stairs and then made his way along the metal walkway to the bathroom and after a lazy teeth brushing session, he walked to his room and shut the door behind him and stretched his arms over his head with a huge yawn. Lazily, he pulled off his jacket, button up shirt and finally his t-shirt, letting his necklaces hang down onto his bare chest. He glanced down at his scarred torso and his lip curled in disgust as he remembered vividly the feeling of being ripped open like a field dressed deer. Sighing at the ruin that use to be smooth and flawless skin, he kicked off his boots and shimmied out of his cargo pants and pulled on a pair of navy blue sleep pants and finally plopped down on his box mattress on the floor, face down.

Scud yawned widely and let the muscles of his body relax, finally. However, his mind never relaxed and it got even worse laying here in the dark at night. It always started with him thinking of the scars, then how Blade had saved his life and taken him and given him a place to stay and a job, then it would go to Damaskino's approach and his decision to become a familiar and hand over Blade, then he would worry he was going to get caught, then he worried what Damaskinos would do to him if he got caught, then what Blade would do to him...and now he worried what Lea would think of him. And that scared him the most.

Soon enough, Scud was shaking from the stress of his thoughts and he squeezed his eyes shut tight as he tried to fight off the fears and uncertainty that bombarded him each night. He was so caught up in trying to calm down that he didn't even notice the sound of someone entering his room until he felt a weight beside him on the mattress. He rolled over with a muffled cry and came face to face with Lea.

"Shh, Scud, you'll wake Whistler!" Lea scolded him with a whisper.

"Geez, Lea!" Scud hissed back, eyes flashing angrily, "What are you doing?!"

Lea sat back on her heels and sighed heavily.

"I'm hungry," she said softly, "I only ate this morning and it's been a while..."

Scud blinked at her a few times, his face blank and expressionless. Then he sighed and rolled back over, putting his back to her and holding his left arm back to her.

"Take what you need," he muttered, tiredly.

Scud waited for the inevitable searing pain of her fangs sinking into his skin and he squeezed his eyes shut again and clenched his teeth in preparation. But she pushed his arm back down to his side and he let it relax and wondered vaguely where she was going to drink from if not there...then he felt her breath on his neck.

"Lea..." his eyes shot open and he sucked in a breath, "That's not..."

"Shh," Lea cut him off and he fell silent, hoping she knew what she was doing and that this didn't kill him...but hell, so what if it did at this point. He was in too deep no matter which way he went so he may as well die from Lea's feeding, right? So he let himself relax and resigned himself to letting her do whatever she needed. Lea's mouth settled on his neck, just behind and below his ear and he could almost feel his blood pulsing under her lips as he waited for the pain...but instead of a bite, Lea gently puckered her lips and kissed his neck.

Scud opened his eyes again and let out the breath he'd been holding. She'd just kissed him. Not bit, not nibbled, not tasted...kissed. He rolled over to look at her.

"What was that?" he asked in confusion, "Thought you were hungry?"

Lea looked at him with a small smile.

"You're not a vending machine, Scud," she whispered, "I can tell something's bothering you and I'm not gonna make you do this right now. Just relax, ok? I can feed tomorrow."

Scud looked at her in amazement, her white skin almost glowing in the dark, then he smiled gently and let his body relax and he rolled back onto his side. However, he was shocked when Lea lay down behind him and put an arm around him, her palm resting on his chest. Scud almost said something to her about how she should probably not stay there...but he knew she didn't mean anything by it, she didn't know anything about what this would look like if Blade or Whistler came in. And that made him wonder...what DID she know about the subject?

"What's that?" Lea asked suddenly, interrupting Scud's thoughts.

"What?" he asked quietly. But Lea was pulling him onto his back and he looked down in surprise when she pressed her ear to his chest, her breath tickled the trail of hair on his stomach and he exhale slowly between his lips to calm the heat that shot through him at that.

"What's that noise in your chest?" Lea asked in amazement, she turned her head to listen with the other ear and she met his eyes, looking curious and surprised. Scud realized then what she meant and he laughed.

"That's my heart beat," he told her with some amusement.

"What does it mean?" Lea asked, wide-eyed as she pulled off his chest, but her hand remained.

"It's a muscle inside," Scud tried his best to explain the complex organ in simple terms, "It's what makes the blood pump through...humans. You have one too, it just doesn't pump. That sound is when it pushes blood out."

Lea looked at him in amazement.

"Really?" she whispered, looking down at his chest with wide eyes.

"Yeah," Scud stated simply, "It's what makes humans warmer too."

"Wow," Lea placed her head back down and her eyes fell closed. "That's so neat. It's really soothing sounding."

"Yeah, I guess it is," Scud agreed, not quite knowing what to do with himself.

"Humans are amazing," Lea whispered.

Scud chuckled lightly and felt his eyes start to droop shut and he yawned widely.

"Lea, I'm sorry, but I'm gonna fall asleep on you," he muttered.

"But...I'm on _you,_" Lea argued.

"I meant I'm about to fall asleep even if you're still here," Scud clarified, smiling slightly at the misinterpretation.

"Can I stay?" Lea's soft whisper almost went unnoticed in his half-awake state, but he managed to nod and put an arm around her before he sank into dreams. Dreams about a certain pretty, young vampire named Lea.

**#How'sTheWeatherUpThereSweeheart#**

**Wow, it's 3 A.M...time to hit the hay so I can actually get up for class tomorrow! Good night ya'll, reviews would be boss to wake up to. Your love is my drug :) And by love, I mean feedback!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Whew, been a long time coming...sorry 'bout the long wait!**

**#LockUpYourDaughters#**

Scud woke up with a weight on his chest that he couldn't quite place, it wasn't overly heavy but it was kind of cold to the touch...and then he remembered. His eyes snapped open and he glanced down, getting a nose full of hair as he did do. Lea was still laying half on top of him, her ear resting right above his heart, her arm tucked under her and into his side while her other hand...oh good Lord, her other hand!

Scud jerked sideways at the realization that her left hand was settled dangerously low on his torso, mere centimeters from the base of his not so unexpected morning erection. But of course, Lea wasn't asleep and she felt him pull away, her eyes snapped up to meet his and she looked at him questioningly. Scud immediately wondered where her eyes had been previously...although he suspected he already knew.

"What was that?" she asked, assuring his suspicion.

Scud pulled his blanket up onto his lap to hide the obvious bulge in his sleep pants and then rubbed his eyes with his palms.

"Don't know what you're talking about," he stated simply, rolling onto his side and putting his back to her.

"What's in your pants?" Lea asked, clarifying. "Seriously, something was in there. It moved."

It was too much, Scud couldn't hold back the bark of laughter that came from his throat when he looked over his shoulder and saw how concerned she looked.

"It's not funny, Scud!" Lea claimed, serious as could be. "Stop laughing! I'm not joking, something's in there!"

Scud clutched his stomach and laughed even harder, the whole embarrassing situation had just turned hilarious in a matter of seconds. He mused that his thought the night before about wondering how much she knew about sex was answered, must be another aspect of humanity that she hadn't been enlightened on. That was going to have to be remedied...

"Lea, it's ok," he said once his laughter was under control, "I'm fine. Nothing in these pants but me."

"No, Scud, I'm telling you..." Lea started to argue.

"Lea," Scud interrupted her firmly, "Trust me. I'll explain it later, ok? Just believe me when I say, it's alright."

Lea didn't look very assured, but she nodded and bit her bottom lip lightly.

"So...how are you feeling?" she asked hesitantly.

Scud mulled that question over for a second, considering the aching harness he was sporting, but he eventually smiled.

"Feel pretty damn good," he replied, "Well rested. I think we'll pull a successful all-nighter."

"Um...feel good enough to let me...feed?" Lea rubbed the back of her neck.

"Sure," Scud shrugged and gave her half cocked grin. "Where you want?"

Lea considered this, tapping her chin as she scanned her eyes over his body.

"I don't want to keep biting in the same places," she said slowly, "I don't want to scar you up."

"Already been done, baby," Scud replied nonchalantly, the use of the pet name not even intended.

"Well...I'm gonna try something," Lea finally decided, "I've never fed in this spot but it should work, and any scar would be hidden pretty well."

That made Scud a little nervous, and when she scooted down toward his legs and bent her head down he squeaked.

"Where are you biting?" he asked, fear flooding his eyes, she was too close for comfort in his opinion.

"Your hip," Lea stated simply.

"Oh..." Scud relaxed a little, taking slight comfort in that knowledge, "Ok."

Lea looked at him curiously for a moment before she turned her head and sunk her teeth into his side, just above his hipbone, her right fang actually sunk through one of his many scars. It was painful, very painful, and Scud found himself clutching the sheets as hard as he could as white hot pain shot through his veins from the venom he knew his body would fight off due to the injections Blade gave him frequently, didn't make it hurt any less, damn it!

He glanced down and found lea looking at him out of the corner of her eyes, silently asking him if everything was ok. He smiled weakly at her before dropping head back to the pillow behind him, gritting his teeth and squeezing his eyes shut. Then Lea's jaw widened and she slipped her fangs out and leaned back, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and then licked the spot on his hip to stop the bloodflow.

"Did that hurt?" she whispered after a few moments.

"Of course it did," Scud chuckled grimly, "Always does."

"I'm..."

"Don't fucking apologize, Lea," Scud sat up, morning wood gone due to the pain so he threw off the blanket and stood up, grabbing a fresh t-shirt from his drawers and slipping it on.

Lea nodded, knowing how he felt about her incessant apologies. He was right, there was nothing she could do about it, so she might as well just accept it. But she still didn't like to see him in pain and so she felt the need to apologize.

"What do you want to see?" Scud asked as they walked down to the kitchen. Whistler was already awake and making pancakes and sausage.

"Excuse me?" Lea asked, not understanding.

"Movies? What movie do you want to go see?" Scud clarified.

"Oh...I'm not...you pick," Lea declared with a smile.

Scud grinned. He had a pretty good idea what he would take her to see.

#LockUpYourDaughters#

Lea was practically bouncing in the passenger seat as they left the warehouse that night as soon as the sun had set. She was looking out the windows with pure excitement in her eyes, she was amazed by everything and asked Scud nonstop what things were.

By the time they reached the theatre, she was so keyed up that she was shaking with excitement and Scud thought he'd never seen anything quite as cute as that. He bought their tickets and entered the dark room with the large screen at the front. Lea wanted to sit right up front until Scud assured her those were the worst possible seats, he persuaded her to take seats further back and she trusted his judgment.

When the ads started, the initial pop of the audio coming on made her jump a mile and she squeaked in alarm, then started laughing. Scud shook his head in amusement and leaned back, waiting...if he knew anything about Lea, it was her timid nature, and he was assuming her reaction would be exactly what he expected. And the movie started.

Dawn of the Dead started out slow, simple, just a girl coming home and falling asleep beside her husband...but the peace didn't last long. Scud felt Lea tense beside him at the sight of the little girl in the doorway, blood dripping from her mouth, dead eyes unfocused before she took a chunk out of her father's neck, making Lea clamp her hands over her mouth and shriek into them. The horror continued in a steady stream of gore and violence and it wasn't long before Lea was halfway in Scud's lap, her eyes glued to the screen in silent, sick interest, but her fists gripping his shirt tightly and her cold nose nuzzled into his neck, her left leg thrown over his as she clung to him in an odd, half turned kind of way. Scud grinned like the Cheshire Cat. Just as planned.

He complimented himself in his own mind and then put his arms around her and rested his chin on her head, rubbing his nose into her hair, which smelled surprisingly amazing for a vampire. But then the jazz version of "Down With The Sickness" started and Lea relaxed a bit and paid much closer and unafraid attention to the calmer scene. Until the bent over the counter sex clips flashed by and she cocked her head in curiosity.

_Whoops. Forgot about that..._ Scud mused to himself as Lea squinted at the screen questioningly.

"What was he doing to her?" Lea whispered, innocently. "Why was he hurting her?"

Scud tried to keep a straight face and just shushed her, not wanting to have to explain something like this in the current setting. Oh good grief...he was going to have to just nut up and explain human sexuality to this completely ignorant vampire. She was probably going to freak out.

"I'll explain later," Scud rolled his eyes and Lea seemed satisfied so she settled back in to watch the remainder of the movie. She started really getting into it by the end and she was pissed when CJ died.

"That ending was terrible! After all that, they died anyway?" Lea hissed when the credits began to roll.

"That's usually how it happens in zombie movies, sweetcheeks," Scud laughed as they stood. His leg was asleep so he had to stand there and stomp his foot for a while and explain the concept of lack of blood flow to Lea. She finally accepted that they weren't going anywhere for a bit and she started keeping herself entertained by looking around the room, that's when she spotted the couple in the back corner. The girl was leaning into the boy next to her much like she had been leaning into Scud, but there was something different in the way they were positioned and she realized their mouths were connected. Weird.

"Ready to go?" Scud asked suddenly, breaking Lea out of her blatant stare. She smiled at him.

"Yes sir," she said in a chipper tone.

"Sir?" Scud laughed, "Never heard that one before."

He placed a hand on her back and guided her around him so she could go first out of the aisle. As they passed the couple in the corner, Lea's curious eyes were glued on them and Scud had to physically turn her head by her jaw.

"What are they doing?" she asked when they were in the parking lot, "Kind of looked like they were feeding."

Scud burst out laughing yet again and Lea gave him a disgusted look.

"Why do you laugh at everything I say?!" she whined.

"I'm sorry, Lea, it's..." he had to stop and catch his breath, "It's just that...you really don't know anything about humans, do you?"

"I know a little bit now," she argued back, putting her hands on her hips. "But the more I see, the more questions I have!"

Scud wasn't laughing anymore, he was looking at her with a calculating squint.

"Ok, I'm sorry, I promise I won't laugh anymore," he stated with a nod, "Now, do you want me to tell you what they were doing in there or do you want me to show you?"

"Show me!" Lea whined again, she needed another look at that pair to decipher what they were doing. She turned to return to the theatre but she felt Scud's warm hand close on her wrist and pull her back, not that he could have if she didn't let him...

"Don't have to go anywhere," he stated, and Lea noticed something about his voice seemed different but she couldn't figure it out. "I can show you right here."

Lea glanced around, looking for another pair of humans who were doing the same thing, but she didn't see any. The feel of Scud's fingers curling around her jaw made her turn back to him in surprise and she realized he had gotten very close in that mere second she'd looked away, his eyes were different, and he was looking at her very intently. She felt something deep inside her start to clench and burn as he leaned slightly and came even closer, mere inches from her face.

"Is it going to hurt?" she whispered.

"Not a bit," Scud assured her a mere second before he closed the last bit of distance and pressed his lips to hers, gently and slowly at first, letting her see his intention clearly. She didn't respond at first, so he kissed her a little harder, turning his head slightly to get a better angle, sucking her bottom lip between his lightly to test the waters. And she finally realized that she was suppose to respond and she did so carefully and slowly at first, but Scud felt a jolt of surprise when she reached up and placed her hands on his cheeks, holding him steady as she began to kiss him back with as much gusto as he was demonstrating. When they pulled apart, her eyes were half closed and dreamy looking.

"What was that?" she whispered, touching her lips.

"It's called a kiss," Scud told her, smiling gently at her. He was relieved she'd taken it well and hadn't even questioned him. "It's...one of the ways humans show eachother they care for someone else. We have a lot of ways."

"Are they all this nice?" Lea whispered, he saw the interest spark in her eyes and he wondered if he was getting in too deep.

"If they're done right," he admitted.

"Will you show me those too?" Lea asked, completely serious.

Scud hesitated. Blade had warned him to keep his hands off her, and he'd promised he would, and Whistler would KILL him if he found the two of them together...it was a dangerous thing she wanted him to do, for both of them. Not to mention she could crush him like a fall leaf if she decided at any point she didn't want it anymore...but another voice in his head told him "Do it, Scud. After next week, it won't matter what Blade and Whistler think anymore. Fuck her while you've got the chance."

"If you want me to," he finally answered her.

"I do, very much," Lea stated, as if the matter was a done deal. Scud grinned wolfishly to himself as they headed to the van and he found himself planning exactly how he was going to go about this next lesson on humanity.

**#LockUpYourDaughters#**

**I meant to write everything tonight, but dang it...my eyes are drooping and I have to get up to do homework so...no. Next chapter coming soon!**


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